BioAlps Academy Award Goes to Professor Pierre Magistretti
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On 11 November 2025, during the BioAlps Networking Day, the BioAlps Academy Award — the highest academic distinction granted by the Health Valley ecosystem — was presented to Professor Pierre Magistretti, one of the world’s leading figures in neuroscience. A physician, researcher and academic leader, he joins the select group of scientists who have left an enduring mark on research and innovation in Western Switzerland. His influence extends far beyond national borders: a pioneer in the study of glial cells and brain energy metabolism, he has opened new paths toward understanding and treating neurodegenerative diseases.
Physician, neuroscientist, and professor emeritus at the University of Lausanne, the University of Geneva, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Pierre Magistretti is one of the world’s leading figures in brain research and neurodegenerative diseases. Born in Milan in 1952, he studied medicine at the University of Geneva, where he received his medical degree in 1977 and his doctorate in 1979. He then continued his scientific training at the University of California San Diego and at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, in the laboratory of Floyd E. Bloom, earning a PhD in neuroscience in 1982.
Pierre Magistretti is internationally recognized for his pioneering work on glial cells—particularly astrocytes—and their central role in brain energy metabolism. With his research group, he demonstrated that astrocytes detect synaptic activity, import glucose, and supply energy to neurons. These discoveries profoundly transformed the understanding of how the brain functions and greatly influenced the field of functional brain imaging as well as research on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Appointed full professor of physiology in 1988 at the University of Lausanne’s Faculty of Medicine, he dedicated more than three decades to the advancement of neuroscience. He served as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Medicine (1996–2000), founded and directed the Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience (CNP), created the Interfaculty Department of Neuroscience at UNIL, and served as the first elected president of the Swiss Society for Neuroscience. He also created and directed the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research “Synapsy – Synaptic Mechanisms of Mental Diseases” from 2010 to 2016. In parallel, he co-led and later directed the Brain Mind Institute at EPFL, where he was a professor until 2017. Since 2012, he has been Distinguished Professor, then Dean, at KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) in Saudi Arabia.
His research also led to innovative therapeutic strategies targeting brain energy metabolism. This work resulted in the creation of GliaPharm, a Swiss biotechnology company founded in 2016 and co-directed by his son Ambroise Magistretti. Emerging directly from his laboratory at EPFL, GliaPharm develops treatments aimed at supporting glial cell function and enhancing energy supply to neurons—an innovative approach with promise for diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Deeply committed to scientific outreach, Pierre Magistretti has spent many years sharing the latest advances in neuroscience with the public: how the brain works, memory, stem cells, artificial intelligence, and neurodegenerative disorders. He makes the complexity of the brain accessible through clear, rigorous and engaging explanations.
In 2023, he published a scientific novel with his wife Christine Magistretti—nurse, psychologist, and advocate for women’s rights—entitled *The Horn of Ammon* (first in English, then in 2024 in French at Odile Jacob). “The Horn of Ammon” is an ancient name for the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center, and symbolizes the very heart of his scientific life.
An internationally renowned scientist, institution builder, pioneer of brain energy research, and mentor to multiple generations of researchers, Pierre Magistretti has devoted his life to understanding how the brain works, how it is fueled, and how it might heal. His career stands as a landmark chapter in the modern history of neuroscience.
📸 Pictures: Prof. Pierre Magistretti, Prof. Antoine Gessbuhler (President, BioAlps), Mrs Magali Bischof (Secretary General, BioAlps). ©BioAlps/Salomé Crouzet Kazzaz